1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a system and method for providing access to a defined space. More particularly, the invention relates to controlling the ability for people to enter a defined space, such as a gated community.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gated communities include marinas, exclusive neighborhoods, housing complexes, and the like. Gated communities are designed to protect those that are within the community. They are also designed to identify those that are visiting the community and to prevent those that are not welcome from entering the community.
This is particularly important in the marina environment when there are so many assets of high value that are within a particular piece of property. Heightening the issues around a marina include the fact that the valuable assets are in water and any damage done to a watercraft may increase the damages exponentially if a breach were to occur in a manner to allow water to enter the watercraft. Also, those that own or control marinas do not want people on the property that are not authorized due to the fact a slip and fall may result in a drowning, especially if no one knows that that person is in the marina.
A solution to these problems has been to gate the community with a guard that watches over the gate. With the guard identifying the guest or contacting a resident to authorize the guest, the guest stays at the gate until authorized. This is a time consuming process. In addition, it is a labor intensive process with a guard being required to be on staff 24 hours a day.